


Let Your Soul Shine Through

by fatedfeathers



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2017-06-25
Packaged: 2018-11-18 18:14:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11296074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fatedfeathers/pseuds/fatedfeathers
Summary: Diana shuffled her wings in amusement, cocking her head and clacking her beak. “You're thinking about him again.” It wasn't a question when she asked; she knew he was thinking about him. She was, too. Juno could lie to himself, fool himself, but his dæmon? His own soul? He couldn't fool her.---Or, the dæmon AU that no one asked for.





	Let Your Soul Shine Through

**Author's Note:**

> I noticed there isn't a dæmon fic for this fandom, and decided to rectify that.
> 
> For anyone unfamiliar with dæmon AUs, a dæmon is a physical representation of one's soul, taking the form of an animal.

There are few people that get to Juno Steel the way Peter Nureyev had gotten to him; people who worm their way so thoroughly into his thoughts that he can't stop thinking about them, even long after they’ve stolen his keys and gotten away from their arresting officers and have left Hyperion City-- and Juno-- behind them. Very few people indeed can affect Juno like Nureyev; so few, the detective can't think of any other people who have ever ingrained themselves so deeply into his consciousness. Nureyev, with his golden bengal cat dæmon and his disarmingly smooth voice; with his cologne, the kind whose scent lingers long after the wearer has left; Peter Nureyev, with his goddamn smirk and teeth that were slightly too sharp.

He wasn't pining, no matter what Rita or Diana said. Not for Nureyev, not for a _thief_ , no matter how attractive he was. Juno scoffed to himself.

Diana shuffled her wings in amusement, cocking her head and clacking her beak. “You're thinking about him again.” It wasn't a question when she asked; she knew he was thinking about him. She was, too. Juno could lie to himself, fool himself, but his dæmon? His own soul? He couldn't fool her. She hop-stepped across the desk in that peculiar way birds have of walking. “Do you think we'll see him again?”

And wasn't that the thousand-cred question. Would they see Peter Nureyev and his sleek cat dæmon again? Or, Juno thought, the better question was, would they meet Nureyev. The man they had met, the mask of Rex Glass? Juno felt that he was a different man from Peter Nureyev.

...

After the Grim case, Juno kept seeing flashes of a familiar figure here and there, darting down alleys or walking on the other side of the street or disappearing into the crowd just ahead of him. Every time, he would feel a strange leap in his chest, and Diana would launch from his shoulder for a better vantage point to see where the man went.

Every time, she came back with the same answer: it wasn't Nureyev. His dæmon was a fox, an ocelot, a humming bird. Never a golden bengal cat. By the time they took Vicky's case, they had stopped looking. He accepted that he wouldn't see the thief again.

…

Vicky’s talk of her “guy,” all the talk of how Juno couldn't contact him, but he'd find Juno should have tipped him off. He should have known something was up.

Should have, but he was just so damn tired. Diana wasn't even trying to sit up straight, her weight and warmth a comforting presence along the side of his neck and face. Only that and her grip on his shoulder kept her from toppling to the floor.

All they wanted when they got home was to make it to the bedroom and just _sleep._ He turned and flicked the light on, but before he could turn back to the room, Diana had launched from his shoulder with a soft cry. Juno froze, then slowly turned.

Peter Nureyev was sitting on his couch. Long legs crossed delicately, an ankle hooked over the opposite knee, long arms cradling and stroking a golden bengal cat, like one of Rita’s streams. He smiled faintly. “Hello, Juno. It's been a while.”

Juno sputtered. Diana alighted on the coffee table in front of the couch, her beak clicking in shock. “N-Nureyev?!” Juno finally managed. Nureyev’s smile spread, the tips of his too-sharp teeth just visible against his bottom lip. His dæmon slid to the floor with the fluid grace only a feline could muster, and he stood with just as much grace as his dæmon.

“The very same.” His dæmon brushed gently past Diana, tail brushing her feathered cheek, before jumping easily to the floor. “Don't get too comfortable, Detective. We're leaving immediately.”

Juno stared at Nureyev, mouth open, for a moment longer before coming back to himself. He squared his shoulders, lifting his chin to meet the thief's eyes. “If you think I'm going anywhere with you--” he starts, but is cut off by a deep, rich laugh from Nureyev’s dæmon.

“I don't _think_ , Juno. I know.” His smile quirked into a smirk. “You called me, after all- by way of one Valles Vicky.”

Diana shook her wings out, parsing it out before Juno, but barely. “You're Vicky's…” she trailed off, looking to Juno.

“This can't be happening,” Juno said, numb. He was so tired, this must be some… Some waking dream. That was it. He held his arm out to Diana and she flew over to him, burying her beak into the hair behind his ear.

“It is, I'm afraid, and I've neither the time nor inclination to prove what's plainly in front of you,” Nureyev said, bending over to scoop up his own dæmon. “Now, put on your coat and give me your keys. We've a long night ahead of us.”

**Author's Note:**

> This should hopefully be two chapters. I'm not sure when the next will be up; I didn't expect this to turn into more than a oneshot, but. Oh well.
> 
> Dæmons:
> 
> Juno: Diana, an [American kestrel](https://goo.gl/images/dKT4H2). Named for the Roman goddess of the Hunt.  
> Peter: unnamed, a [gold bengal cat](https://goo.gl/images/wCNch6). We'll learn more about him in the next chapter.
> 
> If you liked this, please consider leaving a comment, or at least kudos. Thank you so much! <3


End file.
